The imaginary tether

Imagine, if you will, that you work in a traditional office space. If you need to refill your water or coffee, you do so when you can without worry. If you need to take a nature break, you get up and go. If you want to walk to someone's office to take a break, clear your hear, or just engage in some social interaction, it's no big deal. You may even have to physically attend a meeting which may take you away from your desk for hours. These things are all normal behaviors we expect to see. The result of which is that you are not available when someone sends an instant message, calls your desk, emails, or drops by. And that is perfectly understood.

Now, imagine you work at home.

There is a perception that exists on both sides of the communication from home that is a nasty double standard. If someone is trying to reach an at-home worker and they aren't immediately available, the perception is that they are not working. The person trying to connect may think this and feel that at-home workers are slackers, never at their desks, kicking back in their jammies while watching trash TV and eating bon-bons. Obviously this isn't true.

The flip side is that the at-home worker feels like this is what people will think and therefore creates an unrealistic expectation for themselves that they can never leave their desk. They don't want to give outsiders any possible reason to think they aren't working their tail off. The at-home worker then feels guilty and nervous even to go to the restroom. "What if someone calls and I'm not there?" This results in less adequate breaks and a mental meltdown.

It's an unfair stigma. But this cycle will only change if you actively seek to change it. For starters, at-home workers do themselves a disservice by bowing down to the stereotype. Take a stand! Seriously, stand up, and walk away. It's OK. You have legal rights to breaks. You also have human rights and the in-office precedent. If you would have taken the same break in the office, then you shouldn't stop now.

For folks that aren't at home, you need a reality check. First, you are discriminating against coworkers, which is an ethical problem. You should not set double standards. You need to have other measures in place (see my previous article) that can help you determine if a person is productive, and that should apply both at home and in the office. You need to trust your people. When they feel respected, you will get more from them. And frankly, their breaks are going to be no where near as frequent or as lengthy as those in the office just due to proximity of amenities and lack of distraction.

Lastly, for the at-home worker that does get questioned about where they were: Just answer. Be honest. Personally, I'm AFK multiple times a day because I take calls from my treadmill. If someone asks, that's exactly what I'll tell them. No different than a walkstation at the office. Maybe if they hear the honest truth enough, they will start to get over it.

The fact that at-home workers feel tethered to their desk is often times a delusion that is self-inflicted. The best cure is to cut that cord physically, so that you can start to do so mentally.

Attaboy

For some strange reason, I hear many people talk about how it is harder to thank someone for their contributions when they work from home. Likewise, the at-home people say the same things about their in-office counterparts. I tend to think it's pretty easy to say "Thank you", but let's address the topic anyway!

Let's start with the easiest method: Call, email, or Instant Message. These are avenues you should be comfortable with and have at your disposal. The key to this forum is that your thanks be timely and personalized. Instead of "Thank You", consider something more like "Thanks, Joe. This {new feature} will save us 2 hours a week. Much appreciated!" This makes the thanks more specific to the action that was performed and not a generic rubber stamp. If the thanks is related to something really over-the-top, considering carbon copying the coworker's leaders or team so that others can recognize the difference this person made for you.

Additionally, many companies now have internal social media sites. Feel free to give a shout out on these electronic means so that other people interested in topic can tag on, and start a snowball of positive feedback! Use @ and # tags appropriately to get the message to the right people and find it again later.

Where this gets more interesting is when it relates to swag and physical forms of thanks. Maybe you might take someone to lunch, grab a coffee together, buy them a soda, or put a gag gift on their desk. Hard to do that when they are hundreds of miles away! Hard maybe, but not impossible. Here are some suggestions in the $3-10 range:

• Tell someone they rock, by buying them a $3 e-gift card to a music venue (such as iTunes or Amazon)
• Share that cup o' joe by sending them an e-gift card for a local latte lounge (such as Starbucks). Don't skip on the coffee talk though! Get on an a video chat and share your coffee together.
• Show someone how sweet you think they are by sending a cookie gram (such as the $5 cookie cards from Cheryl's) 
• Is it your lucky day because they helped you out so much? Make it theirs and mail them some lotto scratchers. 
• Make a donation to a charity in their name. Even $5-10 telling them that you are paying their kindness forward. Charities can use every penny! (Red Cross, American Cancer Society, or a favorite local charity, for example)
• Personalize a bottle of Coke during the Share a Coke campaign. Even if they never drink it, it will be a fun keepsake. We all know how hard it can be to find your name!
• Send an old fashioned card. A hand-written note really shows your appreciations. See my previous blog post on cards... e-Cards work too when you are short on time or do not have a mailing address. 

Basically, all you need is their email address or home address, and the possibilities are endless. Most cost the same that you would spend in the office. You may perceive it to cost more because it took more effort, but that effort will be totally worth it.

The key to thanking anyone, in-office or at-home, is your sincerity. If you are truly thankful and express your sentiments from the heart, the recipient will feel that and know they made a difference. 

Thank you for reading my blog today. :-)

Will Work At Home work for you?

Not everyone is cut out to be work at home. Well, maybe not all of their situations enable them to be successful. I'd like to think, based on job duties, that anyone could work at home if they gave it the effort. But let's ground ourselves back in reality and agree that I'm a bit pie-in-the-sky.

So, if it doesn't work for everyone, how do you know if it will work for you? Let's explore some of the factors:

Distractions - To be successful at home, the things that take focus away from work need to be kept to a minimum. That doesn't mean you have to lock yourself in a windowless, soundproof, isolation chamber. But, you do need to make sure that you aren't adding more distraction at home than you would have in the office. The biggest distraction is other people - babies, kids, significant others, neighbors, etc; anyone that is present in the house and requires too much of your attention. While you may switch a load of laundry during lunch, you must remember that you are here to work.

Office Space - Despite what some may think, working from home is not sitting on your couch or lying in bed. You need to have a dedicated work space, just like a space when you would physically go to the office. This cannot be your kitchen table, or an end table, or whatever makeshift thing you think will suffice. In some industries/roles, your office must be private and secured, with the ability to lock files and manage confidential data. Your office must also be safe and ergonomic, for both your long term health, and for legal reasons to protect your employer from workplace safety liability.

Outside Interests - Working at home is physically isolating. While you may compensate socially, there is still a feeling of confinement if you don't leave the house. It is important to have interests that go beyond your four walls to keep your social skills up and your creepiness down. You don't want to be that weirdo that never leaves the house and neighbors whisper about! Your house will turn into a prison if you don't step outside of it. You will feel isolated, alone, and depressed. The best candidates are involved in activities that take place in the outside world: volunteering, church, school, sports activities, social groups, activities with your family, etc.

Social (Media) Skills - You are not the only person working for your company. Even if your work is solitary, there will be others you must connect with, and others you should. If you live on an island, you won't be as engaged with your work, and in turn will not put your whole heart into it. We are social creatures, even the most anti-social of us. We also have a base level of needs, and belonging is a large component. To belong, to engage, you must interact. Being remote, this takes more effort. You have to be willing to reach out and not wait for interactions to come to you. Through electronic means, you must be able to share of yourself and invite others in. This will likely take the form of email, instant message, video chat, phone, and social media venues. If you don't actively employ these techniques in your personal life or current job, you likely will not thrive remotely.

Past Experience - This one is obvious. If someone has worked remotely in the past, they generally know what they are getting into and know if they can handle it. Obviously this cannot be the only factor, but it certainly does help.

Equipment/Tech Savvy - When you work at home, there will be at least some equipment/connections you have to manage. Even if your company supplies everything from the computer to the phone and internet lines, tech support is not onsite to help you if something goes wrong. You should be able to diagnose basic problems like connections. Ideally you are familiar with collaboration tools as well. Being remote, you will need to use webcams, social media, and other tools to stay connected with coworkers. It is important that you feel comfortable with technology enough to utilize these tools with little hand-holding.

Internet Speed - Duh! If you can't maintain a high-speed, dependable connection, it won't work no matter how great everything else is.

This isn't comprehensive. Each role will have unique qualifications, and of course the standard role desirables will also be in play. But these are some of the unique factors that may help you determine if working remote will work for you. Please comment with others!

Times... they are a changin'

In every life, change will come. The same can be said for every job, every company. But when change is large, outside of your control, AND you work at home, you have the perfect storm for heads to explode. If you're company is going through something like a bankruptcy, loss of business, closure of a product line, merger, acquisition, etc., etc., every employee's first reaction is: What does this mean for my job?

When you work at home, this is multiplied exponentially. Whenever someone works at home, they inevitably wonder about whether people will remember them, or if they will be a forgotten lost boy off in Neverland. Most people get over that quickly, especially if they manage their PR as recommended in a previous post. But, when a large portion of the company begins to panic, the at-home fears come back with gusto.

Suddenly every at home person is wondering if they are an even bigger target for losing their job.

So how do you deal with this? How do you cope and not drive yourself insane? How do you protect yourself? Not all that different than you would if you were in the office. It may just take some additional effort. Here are some tips:

• Be a rock star at your job. Don't let worry interfere with your ability to delivery on time, high quality, low cost results that wow your customers. Execution matters most!
• Toot your own horn. Don't be an ego-maniac jerk, but take credit where it is due, and make sure others know about your rock star contributions.
• Toot the horns of others. Likewise, give credit where it is due. Help promote those around you and they will return the favor. You also illustrate your ability to be a team player by being a bit humble.
• Network! Don't stay in your bubble. Talk to your team, your leaders, your peers, your customers. Make as many connections as possible. Join the Dog Lovers chat board even! Get people to recognize your name.
• Stay positive. It's easy to be negative, and studies show you gain "friends" through negativity with pile-ons and sympathy. But that's not the energy you want to put out into the universe. The powers that be will pick up on it, and it ruins your cred. 
• Be prepared. Don't jump ship, but do get things in order in case you need to. Update your resume, get your references, increase your savings. If you have to jump, at least have a cushy place to land.
• Keep managing your PR

Most importantly: Don't fill your head full of worry over something you cannot control.

You can only control what you do. Whatever comes down from on-high will come down, whether you want it to or not. You can't stop the snowball from rolling down the hill. You can, however, prepare for what you might do if it does.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.